Trump vows ‘strong look’ at ‘sham’ libel laws

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump reasserted his desire to strengthen libel laws Wednesday, days after the publication of a book that gave an unflattering, behind-the-scenes look at the Trump White House.

"We're going to take a strong look at our country's libel laws," the president told reporters during a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House. He went on to call current U.S. libel laws "a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness, so we’re going to take a strong look at that."

Trump did not elaborate on how he might undertake the effort, but said simply, "We're going to take a very, very strong look at it."

The idea has long been a Trump favorite: During the 2016 campaign, he often said existing rules should be somehow strengthened to take on what he called the "fake media," though it is unclear how any president could take action on the issue.

As president, Trump has only intensified his battle against the press — repeatedly asserting that reporters have "no sources" for unflattering stories about Trump and his administration, and singling out various media outlets for pushing what he calls "fake news."

But Trump has been known as much for his threats to sue, as for his lack of following through when it comes to taking legal action against media outlets.